As part of the “Watching and Dreaming” exhibition at the Surrey Art Gallery TechLab. Three 47″ x 47″ light-boxes were produced thanks to the support of the British Columbia Arts Council. Each light-box shows a selection of the visual vocabulary (percepts) from “Watching (Blade Runner)” (2016), “Watching (2001: A Space Odyssey)” (2018), and “Watching (TRON)” (2018) installations. The composition of these works is the result of a machine learning algorithm (the Self-Organizing Map), which arranges percepts according to their colour, width and height. (more…)

“Watching (2001: A Space Odyssey)” is a revisit of Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” using the same generative methods from “Watching (Blade Runner)” (2016). In this case of this work, the visual vocabulary is 50,000 percepts and the audio was generated with a finer granularity compared to the “Blade Runner” version. (more…)

“Through the haze of a machine’s mind we may glimpse our collective imaginations (Blade Runner)” is the result of a machine subject reorganizing the pixels and audio samples from Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner according to colour and spectral similarity. This destroys the composition of the original, but preserves underlying statistical properties. The resulting images are softly undulating colour fields while the sounds flow between constant drone and glitch complexity due to the process of self-organization. The structure of the work is an emergent result of the interaction between the machine’s subjectivity and the underlying structure of Blade Runner. The incremental evolution of each scene’s sound-scape and colour field are realizations of the machine’s learning process, enabled by a self-organizing machine learning algorithm. The slow ambient movement of the sound and image is punctuated by drastic changes occurring in the image and sound corresponding to the cuts between scenes in the original. (more…)

I think of subjectivity and reality as mutually constructive. Cognitive mechanisms impose structure on reality in the form of imaginary categories that inform prediction and recognition. At the same time, the complexity of reality constantly challenges understanding. Cognition determines the most essential and salient properties of reality, but those properties are context dependent. Is the quintessential an objectively observable property of reality or a projection of imagination? (more…)

An image is a reference to some aspect of the world which contains within its own structure and in terms of its own structure a reference to the act of cognition which generated it. It must say, not that the world is like this, but that it was recognized to have been like this by the image-maker, who leaves behind this record: not of the world, but of the act. (Harold Cohen, What is an image? 1979)

“Step & Repeat #2” is an interactive video installation and is a recreation of “Step & Repeat” (2003) using Arduino and high-resolution video. For each step the user takes toward the screen the character on-screen takes a step toward the user.

Rather than being controlled by the user, the character’s actions are based on an interpretation of the user’s actions. Sometimes this interpretation is correct and sometimes it is not. The character does not respond immediately to stimulus but only after an indeterminate period of time. The character’s behaviour is meant to be mischievous.

﻿Dreams are a complex interaction between our bodies, minds, memories, and experiences. “Dreaming Machine” is a trajectory of site-specific artistic works exploring the topic of dreaming. “Dreaming Machine #1” (prototype) is the first in the series. During the day, the work examines its visual context. Stimulus from the visual context inspires day dreams through its experience. At night the work freely associates elements of its experience and presents them to the audience. (more…)

“Memory Association Machine” is the first prototype in a series of site-specific responsive installations. Rather than depending on the artist to define how these works relate to their site, the task is given to the artwork itself. The structure of the artwork changes in response to continuous stimulus from its context. (more…)

“Resurfacing” captures and archives snapshots or moments in the urban cityscape. These moments are evaluated both by the dynamics within the frame and by the behaviour of the audience. The public both explores and evaluates these moments through a tactile interface.(more…)

“Floatscript” is an interactive installation. The viewer is greeted to a touch-screen. The image of the screen shows a number of small words subtly floating in the background. When the viewer touches the screen the words and pulled up to the surface, increasing in size and brightness. When the viewer stops touching the screen the words slowly fade back into the ether. (more…)

Aporia is a network of simulacra. The work exists on two planes, the emotional plane, a literal/metaphorical representation, and the conceptual plane. The conceptual plane consists only of signs. The signified are veiled through abstraction and encryption. Social entities are referred to only by the IP address of their internet presence. Technological entities are represented as patent numbers or diagrams. (more…)

SEED is meant to bring attention to the implications of Genetic Engineering, and the Genome project, in our near future. With the evolution of biotech and information technologies it’s not difficult to foresee a future where biological organisms are digitally designed and manipulated. The the casual shedding of a eyelash could lead to a reconstruction of your being at the genetic level, without your permission. (more…)